Chapter 66: Don’t Be Happy Yet

Chapter 66: Chapter 66: Don’t Be Happy Yet

The first reunion in nearly twenty years for the siblings, Fu Chun’an and Fu Chunhua, ended at 9:30 PM.

As the siblings parted ways at the restaurant entrance, they held each other’s hands, their eyes filled with tears, too choked with emotion to speak.

The scene deeply moved the Yu family siblings and the younger Fu family siblings who were standing to the side.

Afterward, Fu Chunhua and her daughter took a taxi to the five-star hotel where they were staying.

Having not had a single drop of alcohol, Yu Zhiming drove the Fu family of four and his Fourth Sister back to Zijin Garden in the Wuling van.

As they neared the district, Yu Zhiming dropped off his eldest sister and brother-in-law in front of a small family-run inn.

The apartment he rented was just a one-bedroom, one-living room unit—far too small to accommodate so many people.

As soon as the Yu family siblings and the Fu siblings got back to the apartment, the first thing they did was take out their respective gifts to admire them again.

Fu Xiaoxue’s gift was a translucent, vibrant green jadeite pendant of a seated Buddha.

Yu Xiangwan’s gift was a green jadeite bangle with flower-like patterns.

Fu Xiaobo had no interest in jadeite, but he was still hung up on Yu Zhiming’s green Rolex.

"I’m her biological nephew! It makes no sense that the watch Little Aunt gave you, my own uncle, is so much better than the one she gave me."

Fu Xiaoxue scoffed, teasing him, "A fine watch for a fine man. Bro, with that working-class vibe you’ve got going on, even a regular Rolex would be considered an upgrade for you."

"But for our uncle, the green Rolex is practically a budget option."

Stung by the jab, Fu Xiaobo retorted defiantly, "Xiaoxue, I’m not going to be like Dad and work for other people my whole life."

"In less than five years, I’m going to start my own business and be my own boss."

Fu Xiaoxue pursed her lips, a look of disbelief on her face.

But Yu Xiangwan’s expression turned serious. "Xiaobo, Xiaoxue, stop bickering for a second. I need to say something."

After a moment’s pause, she said slowly, "I don’t know if it’s just my imagination, but did anyone else get the feeling your little aunt was paying special attention to your uncle tonight?"

"She kept sneaking glances at him. Did you notice?"

"Really?"

Fu Xiaobo shot back the question, then reached out to pick up the green Rolex again. Suddenly, it was as if a light bulb went off. "I get it now."

"Don’t tell me Little Aunt has a thing for you, Uncle?"

"Hey, Uncle, you and Little Aunt aren’t legally prohibited from marrying, are you?"

Fu Xiaobo snickered. "Uncle, she may be more than ten years older than you, but she’s worth hundreds of millions."

"Age and distance are no object, right?"

Yu Zhiming’s face hardened. He flexed his fingers and said icily, "Fu Xiaobo, three days without a beating and you’re ready to tear the house down. It looks like it’s high time I gave you a good thrashing..."

He stopped abruptly and pointed toward the next-door apartment.

"Fourth Sister, there’s a man crying next door. He sounds heartbroken, like he’s trying to hold it in."

Yu Xiangwan was taken aback for a second. "Fifth Brother, is it one person crying, or two?"

Yu Zhiming listened for a moment. "Just one. There’s only one person in the apartment next door right now."

Yu Xiangwan stood up. "A man doesn’t cry easily. He must be going through something serious."

"We’re neighbors, and he even helped my brother-in-law and Xiaobo find some work before. We should go check on him."

Fu Xiaobo got up too. "Aunt Xiangwan, I’ll go with you..."

The two of them were gone for about ten minutes before they returned.

Yu Xiangwan sighed softly. "His boss stole credit for his renovation design again. He couldn’t take it anymore and argued with his boss today. As a result, he lost his job."

"And on top of that, his girlfriend broke up with him and moved out."

Yu Zhiming grunted in understanding, then watched as the kid, Fu Xiaobo, started pulling cooked meats, cold appetizers, and other snacks out of the fridge. He even dug out the few cans of beer Fourth Sister had stocked up for him.

"You little brat, didn’t you have enough to eat and drink at the restaurant?" Yu Xiangwan said, her face full of displeasure.

Fu Xiaobo gathered everything in his arms, grinned, and said, "Uncle, Aunt, I’m just going to go have a bite and a drink with the guy, try to cheer him up. Don’t want him to do anything drastic."

"Also, I won’t be back to sleep tonight..."

And sure enough, the kid didn’t come back all night.

He only returned the next morning as breakfast was being prepared, yawning nonstop.

After finishing breakfast, the four members of the Fu family and the Yu family siblings got themselves ready, grabbed Fu Xiaoxue’s luggage for her university check-in, and headed to Binhai Jiaotong University in the Wuling van.

They arrived relatively early, so there weren’t too many new students checking in yet.

With the guidance and help of an enthusiastic upperclassman, Fu Xiaoxue smoothly completed all the registration procedures and even got her bed in the four-person dorm room set up.

Afterward, Fu Xiaoxue gave her family a tour of the beautiful campus, and they all had a hearty lunch at the school cafeteria.

With that, the task of accompanying Fu Xiaoxue for her university registration was successfully completed.

As they said their goodbyes at the main university gate, Yu Zhaoxia was filled with reluctance to part, while Fu Xiaoxue, immersed in the excitement of starting university, couldn’t hide her joyful expression.

The others left in the van.

Seeing his eldest sister was downcast, Yu Zhiming tried to console her. "Eldest Sister, now that your husband and Xiaobo are also in Binhai, why don’t you just stay here too? It would be great for the family to be together."

Yu Zhaoxia shot him a look. "Mom and Dad are getting old. I can’t rest easy if there’s no one there to take care of them."

Yu Xiangwan chimed in loudly, "Then have Mom and Dad come here too! Their only precious son is in Binhai, after all."

Yu Zhaoxia rolled her eyes at her. "Easier said than done. They don’t even like going to the county seat, let alone a place as unfamiliar and unsettling as Binhai."

"Forget Mom and Dad, even I’ve been feeling out of sorts these past few days, always thinking about my flowers and plants back home."

Yu Xiangwan said loudly, "When it comes down to it, it’s all about money."

"If we bought a big house, someplace spacious and comfortable, you wouldn’t have any problem adjusting."

"Fifth Brother, Xiaobo, it’s all up to you two now."

Fu Xiaobo, who was driving, declared with high spirits, "Aunt Xiangwan, in the future, I’ll definitely buy a huge villa for Mom, Grandpa, and Grandma to live in."

"That’s the spirit!"

Yu Xiangwan praised him, then nudged Yu Zhiming with her finger. "Why haven’t you said anything?"

Yu Zhiming just rolled his eyes at her.

Fu Xiaobo said jokingly, "With our uncle’s great qualifications, there’s a huge shortcut to wealth and success..."

"And that is to find a sugar mama or a wealthy older woman..."

The van dropped off Yu Zhaoxia, Yu Xiangwan, and Yu Zhiming at the entrance to the Zijin Garden District and then drove away.

The Fu father and son’s job in the suburbs wasn’t over yet.

Yu Xiangwan watched the van disappear into the distance and asked casually, "Fifth Brother, how come you only made a few threats but didn’t actually do anything?"

"That brat Xiaobo, even I think he deserved a beating."

Yu Zhiming said nonchalantly, "He’s grown up. You have to let him keep some dignity. It’s not right to physically punish him like when he was a kid anymore."

But inwardly, he was fuming, ’If I could still beat him, I’d have pinned him to the ground and thrashed him until he was crying his eyes out...’

A little after 2 PM, Yu Zhiming arrived at a Chinese-style clothing and tailoring studio on the East Section of Pujiang South Road in Zhou Mo’s BMW MINI.

According to Zhou Mo, this small studio, opened by her mother, specialized in custom-made, festive Chinese formalwear.

She herself was surprisingly clumsy with her hands, and with her average aesthetic sense, she was constantly looked down upon by her mother.

That was why Zhou Mo hadn’t been groomed by her mother to inherit the family business and was instead sent off to Huashan Hospital to do odd jobs.

The moment Yu Zhiming stepped into the studio, he knew it was no ordinary place. The row of mannequins in the first-floor hall, draped in dazzling, magnificent festive garments, was an overwhelming sight.

The display cases also showcased piece after piece of silk embroidered with exquisite and intricate patterns...

Yu Zhiming followed Zhou Mo up the stairs past the second floor to the third, where he saw a beautiful and elegant woman in a modern-style cheongsam, adjusting a gown for a bride-to-be.

The middle-aged beauty sized up Yu Zhiming for a few moments, then smiled gracefully. "Dr. Yu, please have a seat and rest. I’ll just be a moment."

Her voice was soft and pleasant, and Yu Zhiming finally understood where Zhou Mo had inherited her beautiful voice from.

The woman then instructed Zhou Mo, "Momo, hurry and get some tea and snacks for Dr. Yu."

"Okay!" Zhou Mo chirped, then bounded lightly down the stairs.

A moment later, she came running back up just as nimbly, holding a large tray in her hands.

On it were six kinds of visually pleasing pastries and a pot of tea.

Just as Zhou Mo was passing the bride-to-be with the tray, the bride-to-be suddenly covered her mouth and made a retching sound. "URK... URK..."

Zhou Mo stopped in her tracks, her eyes widening. "You’re pregnant?"

A look of joy crossed the bride-to-be’s face. "I don’t know," she said, uncertainly. "I just caught a whiff of something I didn’t like, and I suddenly felt the urge to throw up."

She took another deep breath. "But I’m fine now."

Zhou Mo looked at Yu Zhiming and asked with a grin, "Great Dr. Yu, would you be willing to confirm it for this bride-to-be?"

It was a small favor, and Yu Zhiming certainly wasn’t going to ruin the mood by refusing.

He reached out and gently tapped the bride-to-be’s lower abdomen a few times...

"Congratulations, congratulations. You are indeed pregnant."

But in the next instant, Yu Zhiming’s expression darkened.

"Don’t celebrate just yet. You have a serious problem that’s even more urgent than the pregnancy. You need to go to the hospital immediately..."